Brand

A compelling history – A dramatic new story

In its heyday, it employed 23,000 people. More than one million vehicles rolled off its production lines. Now, after more than half a century, one of the most revered names in the German car industry, Borgward, is reborn.

It‘s an unprecedented event in automotive history, and represents the culmination of more than a decade’s worth of groundwork by the industrial Executive Karlheinz L. Knoess and Christian Borgward, grandson of the legendary company founder Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Borgward.

‘Perhaps through the influence of my grandfather‘s history and my father‘s example, we believe that, given the will to succeed, you can achieve anything. You have to set a target and pursue it with all your heart, and if you have a dream, as we do, you will fight for it. Everything is then possible,’ Christian Borgward says, as he prepares to share his 21st century vision for this most visionary of car companies. When Borgward ceased trading back in the summer of 1961, it marked the end of an era of distinguished engineering and design creativity. Between 1919 and 1961 Carl F. W. Borgward emerged from his modest background to create a corporate empire to rival some of the biggest names in the business. In fact, during the 1950s, Borgward was the third largest automotive manufacturer in Germany, and pioneer of the affordable “premium” saloon paradigm. But the Group’s line-up also encompassed small and medium-sized cars, as well as light and heavy duty commercial vehicles. Amongst the company’s biggest successes were the Hansa 1500, the P 100, and the prestigious Isabella – a true brand hero whose coupé sibling ranked among the most desirable cars of the period, and remains highly sought-after by the cognoscenti today. It’s an unprecedented event in automotive history, and represents the culmination of more than a decade’s worth of groundwork by the industrial Executive Karlheinz L. Knöss and Christian Borgward, grandson of the legendary company founder Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Borgward. The goal has now been reached. In March 2015, Borgward is attending the Geneva Motor Show, its first appearance at the celebrated automotive salon since 1960. Borgward’s cars were regarded as inventive, vibrant, and luxurious. These are the values the company espouses now as it prepares to engage with a wildly different automotive landscape. Borgward is back!

A GLOBAL BRAND

MADE IN GERMANY – DRIVEN GLOBALLY

Aside from German engineering prowess and technical innovation, the name Borgward reflected an international approach from the very beginning. As early as the late 1920s, the company was supplying the Polish post office with the Goliath Standard three-wheeler.

Bolstered in particular by the German economic miracle, the enterprise developed into a global corporation overseeing a broad product offering that was split across three brands – Lloyd small cars), Goliath (lower mid-range cars, light delivery trucks), and Borgward (mid-range and luxury cars, trucks).

The company’s location close to the deep-sea port in Bremerhaven was especially advantageous. By the middle of the decade, one out of every three cars made in the Bremen area was being shipped abroad. A Borgward catalogue of 1959 listed more than 2,200 authorised dealers and workshops worldwide, covering every continent. From 1955 onwards the export ratio of the Isabella was further fuelled by strong demand from the United States. In fact, after Germany the US became the second largest market for this most beautiful of Borgward models.

In the record-breaking year 1959, when the Group built more than 100,000 vehicles the export ratio across all of Borgward’s vehicle series reached 63.5 per cent. Some 35.6 per cent of all the cars exported by the Group were headed for the USA. At the end of the 1950s, measured by the proportion of output exported, more Borgward Isabellas were sold abroad than any other German-built car.

63.5 Export Ratio in Percent (1959)

23,000Borgward Group employees (April 1960)

632,000,000 Largest Annual Turnover (1959) in Deutschmarks

9 Portion of registered vehicles in Germany attributable
to the Borgward Group in per cent (January 1961)

100,000 Circulation of the bi-monthly customer magazine “Der Rhombus"

1,004 Number of Borgward cars still registered in Germany (1 January 2014)

104,410 Largest annual vehicle output (1959)

350,000 Total production of Lloyd-Fahrzeugwerke in the period to 1961

202,862 Total Isabella production

9,537 Total production of the Isabella Coupé

14.3 Market share of the Isabella in its segment
(1 January to 30 September 1960) in per cent

7,200 Starting price of Isabella in deutschmarks

12,350 Starting price of P 100 in deutschmarks

A GREAT BRAND REBORN

“ACCESSIBLE PREMIUM”, THE BORGWARD BRAND DECODED

How can premium ambitions be realised after a 50-year absence? This desire has its origins in the brand’s history, but also builds on the global reputation for precision, progressiveness, and the outstanding quality the 21st century German car industry is synonymous with.

Borgward is seeking to identify the real needs of drivers in a period of great transformation in society, during which mobility patterns are radically changing. Truly pivotal and groundbreaking technologies should not be the preserve of the few. The brand aspires to instil pride in its owners, just as the Isabella in the Fifties. Nowadays advanced communication and entertainment technologies are essential in a car built for enduring pleasure.

Borgward is eager to leverage as much benefit as possible from diversity, and a truly multi-cultural development team is at work ensuring that the new Borgwards have a genuinely global appeal. As a German automotive manufacturer, Borgward is keen to recruit skills and talent from all around the world. For Borgward, the customer is the global market – and the brand will be especially visible in the regions that offer the greatest potential.

Borgward’s brand values and how they benefit customers

Borgward will consistently set the standards by which carmakers from Germany are measured – precision is the attribute that defines its aspirations. These include an ultra-modern manufacturing environment and a modular platform strategy. Close partnerships enable the company to guarantee process safety and extensive standardization. Consequence is a technology that is not only first-rate, but also mature and dependable – for an affordable price.

The global approach allows scaling of state-of-the-art technology – such as innovative all-wheel drive systems and cutting-edge diesel engines. E-Mobility sits at the very top of the development.

In an ever more interconnected world, one-way communication with the customer is no longer satisfactory. Borgward attaches great importance to interacting with its customers as intensively and engagingly as possible. Customer feedback is even integrated in the R&D process. This consistently broad-minded approach ensures that consideration is given to every need, including the desires of customers, partners, and investors.

A famous Logo, reimagined

The new Borgward badge symbolises the beginning of a new era for the time-honoured brand – it will be a prominent feature on the front of all new Borgward vehicles. Its contemporary three-dimensional design immediately defines the brand’s mission. The new logo presents Borgward as an aspirational and dynamic brand bristling with highly innovative technol­ogy, creative design, and a thoroughly German sense of quality.

Its diamond shape is a clear interpretation of the world-famous historic Borgward trademark. The diamond consists of four triangles, two of which are coloured red – a reference to the flag of the German city of Bremen, where Carl F. W. ­Borgward ­established his company in the 1920s. The red ­segments are set off against triangular voids, which distinctively add depth to the badge while revealing the car’s underlying paint finish at the same time.

The company’s design chiefs have sympathetically refined both the fundamental shape and the colours of the logo in a visual and tactile celebration of the brand. The elegant curves of the rounded diamond co-exist in harmony with the crisp edges of the triangular internal segments. Subtle reflections and shadows on the surfaces, which retain their effect even when the badge is printed on paper, emphasise the logo’s sculpted, physical quality. The BORGWARD caption is self-confident and prominently positioned on the broad, silver crosspiece of the diamond. Its stylish, timeless letters are stamped deep in the metal.

In summary, the chic silver diamond combines all the elements of the logo in a balanced artwork – an unmistakable brand badge thoughtfully re-interpreted by Borgward in compliance with contemporary visual and design trends.

Vision

Ulrich Walker

„Double C“ Philosophy Challenge and change

“Ulrich Walker describes his work philosophy, which he had kept for many years, as ‘double-C’: in an environment full of challenges and changes only intercultural flexibility and cooperation can lead to success. “I’m honored to lead this respected German brand into the future. BORGWARD is a legendary global brand which has set industrial milestones and created brilliant stories in history. Several of its innovations and classic cars have been widely acclaimed in the industry and I am confident that BORGWARD will win back its place in the international automotive industry. We will work hard to satisfy our customers with aesthetic design, highest quality as well as innovative and sustainable technology. The Borgward Group AG with its HQ in Germany will provide a wide range of products engineered and designed in Germany and will offer its customers accessible premium.”

Christian Borgward

A proud past, inspiring the Future

“I have always much admired my grandfather’s tremendous achievements and life’s work. The Borgward company history made a huge impression on me because the firm’s success was built on the dreams of just one man. It was his will, courage, and energy that within 40 years created an enterprise that sold more than a million vehicles worldwide and employed in excess of 20,000 people. I was always astonished by how much one man can accomplish if he has a dream and pursues it to the end.“

Karlheinz L. Knöss

Passion and pioneering spirit

“Unique companies and brands are characterised by passion, a pioneering spirit and enduring values. Borgward personified these attributes instilled by the strong and single-minded personality of Carl F. W. Borgward, his ideas, his products, and his visionary business leadership. However, persistent success and focused performance do not always guarantee an agreeable climate, as Carl F. W. Borgward discovered to his cost. But his lifetime achievement, the creation of a German brand enjoying international popularity and recognition, with the potential to succeed in the future, has always been my strongest motivation.”

We want to inspire people with the products we bring to the market in the same way that old Borgward cars continue to inspire us today.Einar J. Hareide, Head of Design

Einar J. Hareide

The right attitude

“Borgward cars had a very strong attitude that is still appealing today. It was a combination of elegance and accessibility and not necessarily about a certain shape or design. Borgward set new standards for the middle-class vehicle segment, and this is something we would like to carry forward with what we call accessible premium.”

Story

6 Milestones of Innovation

1924

Borgward Blitzkarren

While it was a brave and self-confident act just a year after the end of the First World War, founding an automotive supplier to produce radiators was only an interim step for Carl F. W. Borgward. The 29-year-old engineer wanted to design and build cars – nothing else.

The famous Blitzkarren (“Lightning Cart”) he produced in 1924 marked the starting point. It fulfilled the need for a cheap means of inner-city transportation and paved the way for a string of vehicles, which by the end of the decade had captured a 25 per cent share of the light commercial vehicle market. Borgward’s partner, the businessman Wilhelm Tecklenborg, sold the licence for the Blitzkarren to the Deutsche Reichspost, which used the engaging little truck to collect mail from Bremen’s post boxes. When a new name was proposed for the truck, the employees were in favour of Lilliput but Borgward, always a big thinker, decided on Goliath instead. Four years later, an entire generation of greengrocers, bakers, farmers, and tradesmen took to the wheel of the new Goliath.

1949

Borgward Hansa 1500

Carl F. W. Borgward could have taken the easy option in the aftermath of the Second World War, by recommencing production of his extremely popular pre-war vehicles. As a general rule, German carmakers adopted a cautious approach to developing new technologies at the time. As a restless and visionary engineer, however, Carl F. W. Borgward was looking far beyond the horizon.

Pontoon bodies were becoming familiar in the US, so why not adopt this concept in Europe? He began post-war production with a completely new vehicle – ambitiously setting high standards for other manufacturers to follow. The Hansa 1500, presented in Geneva back in 1949, was the first European vehicle to have a pontoon body with integral wings – it established another key landmark in the history of automotive design.

1952

Goliath GP 700E

Carl F. W. Borgward was a pioneer. Being the first to market with either a technology or a product idea remained a motivating force throughout the brand’s history. While tirelessly examining fresh opportunities, he was consistently creative and always striving to develop new solutions.

Premiered in 1952, the Goliath GP 700E anticipated a technology that was not adopted in mass production until the end of the 20th century. Back then, almost 50 years earlier, Carl F. W. Borgward first became enthusiastic about the potential of direct fuel injection systems. They could dramatically improve consumption, drivability and emissions, especially in conjunction with the two-stroke engines that were commonplace in 1952. The Goliath GP 700E was a sensation and set a milestone in automotive history; it was the first regular production car with direct fuel injection offered motorists an incredible 30 per cent reduction in fuel consumption compared with a carburettor version. Overrun fuel cut-off reduced emissions of the car’s neat 700 cc 29 hp two-stroke engine.

1953

Borgward Hansa 2400

For some, manual gearchanges erode the quality of luxury motoring. Although widely accepted today, an automatic was a radical concept in the early 1950s – at the time, no European car manufacturer offered one.

In 1953, the Borgward Hansa 2400 became the first luxury car to afford this extra option. The innovative three-speed transmission with torque converter was a complete in-house development – pioneering thinking at its best.

1954

Borgward Isabella

Iconic is an over-used adjective, but not when it comes to the Borgward Isabella. It is a car that combines the German passion for precise engineering with a beautiful and functional design. Sixty years ago, mid-sized family cars were expected to offer space for five people including luggage, and their interiors were usually characterised by a relentlessly sober atmosphere.

Carl F. W. Borgward disputed this orthodoxy. Why should a family car not be a pleasure to drive and look at? The Borgward Isabella opened up a new segment and featured attributes that could thus far only be found in luxury vehicles – sportiness, desirability, spaciousness and reliability. With an output of 60 hp, the Borgward Isabella outperformed its direct mid-sized competitors in 1954 by almost 50 per cent. As the first genuine family sports car to offer outstanding performance, it set standards in its segment and marked the beginning of a new era in the automotive market. Like its predecessor, the 1955 Isabella TS, which developed 75 hp, pursued the family sports concept and offered improved performance without compromising safety or reliability. The longevity of its 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine was legendary. The Isabella derivatives were the result of innovative engineering and open-minded thinking. Why not also offer a coupé for even more driving pleasure? Or a convertible? And wouldn’t an estate car benefit from the diverse nature of the Isabella’s character? This expanded line-up reflected the further development of a groundbreaking idea and Borgward’s ambition to challenge existing boundaries and compromises – long before it became the norm, the Isabella range exemplified diversity. The Isabella also established the excellent reputation of Borgward cars around the world – a reputation that has lived on for half a century. Carl F. W. Borgward’s infallible instinct for latent market niches helped to achieve the biggest success in Borgward’s history – in all, more than 200,000 Isabellas were sold.

1959

Borgward P 100

Carl F. W. Borgward was a doer. For him, hesitation was an alien concept. This attitude stayed with him throughout his working life, from 1919 until 1961. Pride in his personal performance and that of his entire team was a core trait of the Borgward brand. It also provided the springboard for the company – the third largest market player in Germany in the late 1950s – to investigate new, outstanding solutions.

The sumptuous six-cylinder P 100 managed to combine comfort and safety in equal measure and, even 55 years after its launch, its technical specification remains impressive. It was the first European car to feature revolutionary, self-levelling pneumatic suspension, ensuring that the ride height remained constant, irrespective of the load and driving conditions.

Borgward Through the years

1919

Carl F. W. Borgward becomes a partner and managing director of the limited liability company Bremer Reifen-Industrie GmbH, which produces radiators and fenders for the automotive industry.

1921

Borgward becomes the sole shareholder in the company, which is renamed Bremer Kühlerfabrik Borgward & Co.

1924

The first vehicle designed and built by Borgward, the small, manoeuvrable and affordable Blitzkarren (Lightning Cart), has a payload of up to 250 kilogrammes. It immediately strikes a chord with tradesmen and small businesses. The Deutsche Reichspost uses the little truck to collect mail from post boxes in Bremen, Germany.

1925

The businessman Wilhelm Tecklenborg joins the company. Relocation of production to larger premises on Industriestrasse in Bremen.

1926

The Goliath three-wheeler appears as the technically refined successor of the Blitzkarren, offering twice the payload.

1928

Further expansion accomplished by acquiring the building of a former body works; relocation to site in the immediate vicinity of Hansa-Lloyd-Werke; company renamed Goliath-Werke Borgward & Co.

1929

Borgward and Tecklenborg acquire a majority stake in Hansa-Lloyd-Werke and become members of the executive board.

1931

Borgward and Tecklenborg become sole shareholders of Hansa-Lloyd-Werke and merge the company with ­
Goliath-Werke Borgward & Co. to form Hansa-Lloyd und Goliath-Werke Borgward & Tecklenborg oHG. Production of the three-wheeled Goliath Pionier outstrips that of all other cars in Germany in 1931/32.

1934

Production launch of the Hansa 1100 and Hansa 1700 cars. For the first time, the engines and bodies are built in-house.

1936

Purchase of a 200,000 square metre site in Bremen-Sebaldsbrück for the construction of a new factory.

1937

Dissolution of the stock corporation and compensation payment to the
co-shareholder Tecklenborg; Borgward becomes the sole owner of the company, now renamed Hansa-Lloyd-Goliath Werke Carl F. W. Borgward.

1938

23 September: Opening of the new factory in Bremen-Sebaldsbrück, the most modern automotive plant of its time. Company renamed Carl F. W. Borgward Bremen Automobil- und Motoren-Werke.

1939

Borgward ranks among the leading German automakers; the Hansa models are renamed Borgward. From the summer, the only car built by the company is the Borgward 2000/2300.

1944

12 October: The factories in Sebaldsbrück and Hastedt are largely destroyed in Allied bombing raids.

1945

Production of trucks (B 3000) and spare parts recommences in Sebaldsbrück.

1948

In the period until the currency reform of 20 June 1948, 2,700 trucks are built. Carl F. W. Borgward resumes control of the factories.

1949

Formation of three separate companies from the existing business, partially in response to raw material rationing; vehicle sales now conducted through three marques, namely Lloyd, Goliath, and Borgward. Presentation of the Borgward Hansa 1500 at the Geneva Motor Show – the first new designed German car of the post-war period.

1950

Launch of the Lloyd LP 300, affectionately known as the Leukoplastbomber (Band-Aid Bomber) – a compact car for the masses and for many the only affordable car. The Goliath GP 700 enters production. International motorsport debut, twelve records established in Montlhéry in the F class up to 1.5 litres, including 172 km/h (107 mph) average speed over 1,000 miles.

1952

Borgward enters the luxury segment with the Hansa 2400 fastback at the IAA (International Motor Show) in Frankfurt, Germany.

1953

Two racing coupés with aluminium bodies entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Carrera Panamericana rally.

1954

10 June: Launch of the Borgward Isabella, which is extremely popular; in the first year alone, 10,000 units are produced, and more than 200,000 Isabellas are sold in total.

1956

Development work starts on the three-seater helicopter Focke-Borgward BFK-1. Introduction of the Isabella Coupé with the TS engine (1.5-litre displacement, 75 hp).

1958

April: The 100,000th Isabella rolls off the production line.

1959

August: Presentation and series-production launch of the newly developed Lloyd Arabella. The luxury segment is revisited with the launch of the P 100 at the IAA (International Motor Show) in Frankfurt, Germany – the first German car with pneumatic suspension (codenamed "Airswing"). Record-breaking year: Sales advance to 632 million Deutschmarks, vehicle production exceeds 104,000 units, and the export ratio across all model series reaches 63.5 per cent.

1960

The Borgward Group captures a nine per cent share of the West German market, ranking third in the new registration statistics after Volkswagen and Opel. The P 100 enters series production. Initial cash flow problems triggered by losses at Lloyd and Goliath.

1961

Carl F. W. Borgward yields to pressure from the Bremen Senate and steps down from the company. Foundation of Borgward-Werke AG under the stewardship of the Senate. In the summer, initiation of bankruptcy proceedings against Borgward-Werke AG. Eight years later, after the finalisation of the proceedings it becomes evident that all creditors and employees were paid in full.

1962

A handful of former Borgward employees put the finishing touches to the final 23 Isabellas, stranded on the halted production line. The very last car is delivered at the beginning of 1962.

2015

After more than 50 years, Borgward returns to the circle of car manufacturers. The brand presents itself – for the first time since 1960 – at the Geneva International Motorshow.

BORGWARD P 100

Passion

MOTORSPORT

THE ULTIMATE TEST, THE ULTIMATE PROOF

Success on the world’s racing circuits is the ultimate proof of a manufacturer’s engineering capabilities. Encouraged by the positive response to the debut of the Hansa 1500 at the Geneva Motor Show in 1949, Carl F. W. Borgward decided there and then to use the new model as the basis for a racing car. In August 1950, the INKA set twelve international records in Montlhéry in France.

Its success served as an incentive and led to the design of a new chassis and a modified 1.5-litre engine for the 1953 motosport season.

The Borgward Hansa 1500 RS emerged from the 1,000-kilometre race at the Nürburgring as class winners, and finished third overall behind a 4.5-litre Ferrari and a Jaguar.

To demonstrate the Hansa 1800 diesel’s performance, the motorsport division installed the 42 hp unit in the sports body. The first-ever diesel coupé reached a maximum speed of 155 km/h (96 mph) and set two new world records for diesel-engined cars.

Legendary was the 1953 Carrera Panamericana, with 2 Hansa 1500 RS competing against the Porsche Spyders. It would have ended with a class victory –if the leading Borgward had not exceeded the three-hour time limit for the stage by a mere seven seconds. In the same year, Borgward entered two cars in the 24 Heures du Mans.

Borgward also recorded notable successes in touring car racing, including a particularly remarkable one in 1954, when a more or less standard-spec Isabella finished the Carrera Panamericana in sixth place in the European touring car class.

In 1956, the testing division in Bremen set about developing a 1.5-litre Isabella-based four-valve engine with fuel injection and dual ignition. The powerplant initially developed 150 hp and powered the Borgward RS to numerous class victories. In 1959 it was ideal for the newly established 1.5-litre Formula 2. Stirling Moss was driving a Cooper-Borgward and recorded four wins in the first four races. The famous race-driver is quoted as saying that Formula 2 meant little to him at the time – until he sat in the Cooper with the Borgward engine.

Return of a legend

Weighing in at just 650 kilogrammes and generating an output of 165 hp, the Borgward Hansa RS 1500 was the most feared opponent of the 135 hp Porsche 550 Spyder in the 1.5-litre class. The Hansa RS also had a 1.5-litre engine, which powered the aluminium racer to more than 155 mph – and this at the end of the 1950s. “The engine was brilliant,” says the owner Ralf Jüttner, “simply an outstanding performer.” This is the view of an expert – as managing director of Joest Racing, he is responsible for Audi’s Le Mans entries. Motor racing is in his blood: In 1949, his father Fritz was a member of Borgward’s racing division and a Borgward driver.

It was Fritz Jüttner who rescued the Borgward RS – without an engine – from the remnants of the racing division. Once a suitable power unit was found, a restoration project spanning several years started. From the 1970s onwards, Fritz Jüttner frequently took to the wheel of the RS again in vintage car races. He was joined by his son Ralf, who also helped out in the pits. When Fritz Jüttner passed away in 1985, Ralf inherited the sports car that was sitting in his father’s garage. When it’s not out on the racetrack, the Borgward Hansa RS 1500 nowadays can be admired in Hamburg’s Prototyp Car Museum.

LOYALTY, ABOVE AND BEYOND

DEVOTION – THREE TALES OF TRUE LOVE

There can be only one reason for remaining loyal to a marque last seen 50 years ago: true devotion. Committed enthusiasts have been responsible for preserving the memory of Borgward cars over a period of several decades. They have kept the brand alive – and the legendary cars on the road.

Henry Preneux

Henry Preneux still fondly recalls the moment he fell in love with his first Borgward. A businessman in the suburb of Recklinghausen, where he grew up and attended school, owned an ivory-coloured Isabella TS de Luxe. “I walked past it every day on my way to primary school,” explains the 66-year-old. “I knew, of course, that this Isabella was a genuinely fast car, but I was also captivated by its beautiful curves.” His passion remains.

Henry, a parts dealer and respected restorer of Borgwards, had to wait more than 25 years before he could acquire a Borgward of his own. Initially intended as a hobby, the car ultimately changed the businessman’s life. The deciding factor was a visit to a vintage car market. “I was immediately aware of the lack of organisation,” he recalls, “And I wanted to improve the situation.”

At the age of 37, he decided to take the plunge. He resigned from his secure and well-paid job and, with the support of his wife Angelika, placed his faith entirely in Borgward.

As well as making reproduction parts, Henry dedicated his labour to restoring historic Borgward vehicles from scratch.

Henry cherishes the contacts he has established with Borgward fans all over the world. Many of those named in his card file of 3,500 addresses, some as far afield as Israel, are now close friends.

“From my sitting room to the workshop is just a ten-metre walk,” he says. Over a period of 30 years he has fully restored more than 65 Borgwards.

For Henry, Borgward is epitomised by the Isabella. He is particularly fond of two cars: the as-new estate he has been driving for more than 30 years, and an unprepossessing saloon that stands rather forlorn on the fringes of his property. “That’s my first Isabella, which I purchased in 1982 – I sold it two years later.” He was recently able to buy the car back. Preneux’s next big project is to restore to original condition the Isabella that wrote the first chapter of his story.

Oskar Pfeffer

The make of 20-year-old metalworker Oskar Pfeffer’s first car was never in doubt: It had to be an Isabella. Even as a young man, he was an ardent admirer of the marque and its founder Carl F. W. Borgward. In 1960, the newly-wed Oskar was keen to purchase a car that was roomy but also sporty at heart. Unable to afford a new Isabella, he travelled from his hometown of Frankfurt to Wiesbaden with a friend and purchased a standard 1954 Isabella for 1,500 Deutschmarks. On the drive home, his friend’s Opel could not keep pace with the new acquisition.

From those days onwards, Oskar’s enthusiasm for the marque has never waned. Even the company’s collapse in 1961 did not shake his faith – he established a network of Borgward devotees and in the Sixties gradually became involved in buying and selling a variety of Borgward models and relics that had lost their popular appeal. Even when the family moved to the USA for six years, he continued to expand his collection by purchasing exported Borgwards.

Upon returning from the States, his Borgward collection now shelters as many as 30 cars. Among them are an extremely rare Hansa 2400 Pullman – Oskar is the only owner in the world to possess all three variants in a roadworthy condition – and the last-ever registered P 100, which even now has driven only 60,000 kilometres. In recent years the now 74-year-old has begun to reduce the size of his collection. “Carl F. W. Borgward has shaped my entire life,” concludes Oskar Pfeffer. With his enthusiasm for the company’s history undiminished, one wish in particular remains, namely for Borgward to build cars again.

Ulrich Koböke

Ulrich Koböke is owner of one of the largest collections of Borgward model cars. But the 69-year-old does not share the fanaticism of many collectors. He simply sees himself as a Borgward devotee who has been collecting models since childhood – no matter if they are 50- or 60-year-old originals or the recent 1:43-scale models made in China. “I just enjoy the everyday company of all these Borgwards,” he explains.

His collection does contain some very rare specimens, including 1:43-scale plastic Isabella and Isabella Coupé models displayed on their small cardboard boxes bearing the Borgward logo – formerly produced plastic models as promotional gifts for Borgward customers.

Ulrich’s passion for Borgward is steeped in family tradition. His father was a glazing merchant, who owned not only Borgward delivery trucks, but also an Isabella for family use. After school, Ulrich frequently took to the road in the Borgward B 611 Transporter to deliver panes of glass to customers. After Borgward’s bankruptcy, only the model cars remained as a keepsake.

In the mid-Seventies, however, Ulrich began to buy time-worn Borgwards for restoration as a hobby with friends. When visiting parts markets and vintage car fairs, he also continuously added to his collection of model cars.

Over the years Ulrich has extended his collection of full-scale Borgward as well. His favourite is a 1959 Isabella Coupé Cabriolet, acquired in 1982 to fulfil a long-held ambition. He is also the proud owner of a rare B 611 delivery truck built in 1961 – the very same model in which he made his earlier deliveries. The Borgward enthusiast and wine connoisseur would never contemplate selling the Cabriolet. He comments, “Taking in the fresh air of a summer evening while cruising the country lanes of Paderborn in an open-top Isabella is one of life’s unmissable pleasures.”